title: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome: an assessment of registered psychiatric nurses' knowledge.
abstract: Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is a potentially fatal complication of neuroleptic use and is frequently underdiagnosed by medical and nursing staff. The current project was undertaken to assess the knowledge registered psychiatric nurses (RPN) have of the signs, symptoms and interventions to be initiated in cases of NMS. A total of 126 RPN employed in a large tertiary inpatient facility and community mental health centre responded to a self-completed questionnaire. The results indicate that while the RPN in the study's sample demonstrated adequate knowledge of NMS, there was evidence to suggest that these RPN may actually lack confidence in their ability to identify and initiate appropriate interventions in suspected cases of NMS. Although RPN employed in the rehabilitation and psychogeriatric areas of the hospital had more years of experience in the mental health field, their overall knowledge of NMS was significantly lower than that of RPN employed in other clinical settings (F = 3.35; d.f. = 5119; P = 0.007). The findings underscore the importance of ongoing education for RPN employed within clinical mental health settings.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Centre for Schizophrenia Research, Wolston Park Hospital, Wacol, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cardy
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chatterton
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meehan
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009459:Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome / Q000451:nursing*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires